Summer Beach Reads

I wanted to share my most recent Kindle downloads for vacation reading.  A couple of them have been featured on several blogs as the most popular books for Summer 2014.   I'm going to start the Maria Semple novel right away, I've heard so much about it already and I don't want to have the ending spoiled for me.  And no I didn't color coordinate my summer reading on purpose.

 The Vacationers, The One and Only, and Where'd You Go, Bernadette

I realize that this is a young adult novel but sometimes can't we bend the rules.  Everyone is discussing The Fault in Our Stars right now and this one is being heavily compared to it.  I'm super curious and I may purchase this one when I finish my other three.

I love when people recommend books.  If you've read something good recently please comment below!

Summer Dress Loves

A few new dresses for these hot summer days...

 French Connection Elliot Two Dress.  Super versatile in a stretchable breathable fabric.  It's my favorite new find that can be dressed up or down and is even appropriate for work with a sweater or blazer.

Did you see the sale Old Navy is having on dresses right now.  Holy smokes!  I had to get in on that action and these two beauties are now mine.

 Striped Sheath - I purchased mine in the pink stripe which is no longer available sadly. However the black stripe and the gray stripe still have several sizes in stock online.  I'm loving stripes this season!

A Line Ponte Knit Tank Dress.  I own this in bright coral-pink and loved it so much I wanted it in black.  Perfect for travel because it doesn't seem to wrinkle easy and it can be worn for day and night.  I love that I can wear it to work with a cardigan, my pink one is a regular work staple.

Meet Lady Belle...

It's been a while since my last post...our adopted Bluetick has been adjusting to our schedule for the past week and a half.  Every afternoon we have enjoyed long walks and playtime with her.  She desperately needed to learn leash manners and I purchased an Easy Walk Harness from Phydeaux Boutique in Raleigh to help get her started.  She is a quick learner so far and such a joy to have in the house.  Here are a few photos from her first week with us.

She will be visiting the beach with us soon and we will get to test her in a new environment around dogs, family, and sand.  Her official trial adoption ends on Friday and we couldn't give her back if we tried.  She has become so attached to us, especially my husband, and she fits in well with our little family.  Once the trial is up we will pay her adoption fee and she will officially be ours.

Five on Friday

We have a new love joining our family today!  We are adopting this sweet girl from a local rescue and we pick her up for a "trial" period this afternoon.  I don't think there will be any problems with our trial, so I've already gone shopping for her as a permanent family member.  She is a bluetick coonhound, approximately 4 years old, who was likely used for breeding in her past.  Apparently she has been in a car accident and has some lameness in her back legs but she runs and walks normally...homegirl can't jump though.

I decided my five on Friday would feature some goodies that I've purchased for her this week while I've been anticipating her arrival.

1.  The foster mother suggested a few different brands of food.  We are going to mix her current food with one of the suggestions, Taste of the Wild. She has only been eating grain free food so I think we will stick with it.

2.  Homemade Pupsicles, also known as homemade Frostypaws.  An easy snack for any dog trying to get familiar with a new environment.  I whipped up a batch Wednesday night with some plain yogurt, natural peanut butter, and a banana.

3.  A new dog bed.  Our girl can't jump on the couch and I want her to have a nice soft place to lounge during the day while we are at work and of course somewhere to sleep at night.  Our last dog snubbed pet beds so we didn't have one in the house.

4.  Every coonhound needs a raccoon toy, right?

5.  A padded harness.  Our girl can walk on a leash but she is a "puller", it's going to be something we will be patient with but diligent to try and teach her leash manners.  I hope it will make our walks more comfortable for her.  We also bought a short lead by the same brand.

This isn't a full list...we bought meat jerky, a new brush, and bullies for her as well.  We have also started looking for a nice leather collar for her as well as some durable interactive toys.

So, whats her name?  Well we don't know yet.  She currently has a beautiful, exotic name but the shortened version that her foster mother uses also happens to be R's mothers name.  That won't work.  I cannot call our dog by my MIL's name.  We are going to toy with it over the next week and see if we want to keep her full current name and not use the shortened one or if we want to change it to something else entirely.  I will reveal it on the blog as soon as we decide what to call her.  Right now she is just "pretty girl" when we look at her picture.  Seriously, look at that gorgeous face!